


Perfection

by 1800_send_help



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, Gay Character, Gender Identity, I swear NCT actually plays a big role in this, Idols, LGBTQ Themes, Sexual Orientation, Trainee Systems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25894162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1800_send_help/pseuds/1800_send_help
Summary: One's a perfectionistic goofball.One's being told to dress up in order to debut.The two of them live together. Will they be able to show each other their imperfections, or only the facade that they put up for the whole world?
Kudos: 2





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so the beginning isn't my best and this is my first story on AO3. I swear despite the fact that NCT isn't here yet, they will be soon. Just please bare with me, that's all I ask. I'm a student and probably won't update super often if I'm being honest, but I'll do my best to update when I can. There will be no update schedule though.

Ximena woke up with her pillows thrown throughout the bedroom, her sheets only covering her left foot, and her $80 Simba plushie that she got when she went to see The Lion King on Broadway had been pressed to her chest by her arms as a comfort method.

She looked at her calendar and screamed, waking her parents up by accident.

_"Sorry mom!"_ The hyperactive almost 13 year old yelled in English as she ran downstairs to the computer in the office room, almost pushing her mother in the process. Her birthday was in a week.

Sitting down at the desk, she logged in as fast as possible, checking her email and screaming again.

_"Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD."_ She repeated happily, reading the celebratory words, congratulating her for not screwing up during her audition which resulted in her ending up getting into the company's trainee system, before reading through the second portion of the email and staring in disbelief. "T-they want me in Korea, in a month if possible. They have a dorm ready for me, and I'll be going to school there." She said to nobody in particular.

Ximena's mother's family lives in Korea, but her parents and her friends, and her school are all here in New York. Her life is in New York.

But she wants this. She wants to perform. She wants to make her family proud of her. She wants to be proud of herself. She wants to make people happy like how idols make her happy.

_"Mom! Come here please~"_ She called for her mother, wanting to show her the email.

Her mom came in, reading the email with huge smile on her face, until she got to the last portion. _"That's pretty soon... but it will have to make due! I'll call my sister,_ _and_ _make sure that she can pick you up from the airport when you land. Get a notepad and your father. We want to get you packed as soon as possible. I_ _really_ _wish it wasn't so soon,_ _but_ _they did say be ready to drop everything."_

Ximena ran to go get her dad and her rainbow notebook. Dragging him back into the office, she flopped down in her beanbag chair, giggling as her father ranted in Spanish about how he doesn't like being dragged because she's getting too strong.

They spent 30 minutes planning exactly what she would need. It was ultimately decided she'd just pack the stuff she likes most and her dance and gymnastics stuff, except for the ballet barre that sat in her room.

Running upstairs, she began packing. She wanted to be done as quickly as possible so she could spend the rest of her time in NY with her friends.

Clothes and stuffed animals were being thrown left and right across her bedroom into piles. There were three. They were labeled as follows: Definitely, Maybe, and HECCIS NAH.

Sweater after sweater, dorky sock after dorky sock, boot after boot, she sorted her room into organized chaos.

By the end of the week, clothes of every color were placed neatly in piles around her room, ready to be packed. Years of memories and comfort prepared to be packed away in a box.

Ximena went to bed, dreaming of getting off the plane and attacking her cousins in hugs. She hadn't seen them in years, but now she's be seeing them constantly. She dreamt of her dorm, her training, the food, her new school, her new friends. The pros and cons of everything revealing themselves to her subconscious.

She was ready. She was excited and scared and ready.


	2. Two

Today was the day. Ximena was leaving New York. The newly turned 13-year-old with all of her 13-year-old sass was getting on a plane for the first time, and alone at that.

To call herself scared would have been an understatement. What if she had ended up on the wrong flight? What if she _missed_ her flight? What if they lost her bag? What if her aunt wasn't there when she got off the plane?

_What if... What if... What if..._

Her barely pubescent body trembled as hypotheticals of every potential situation and every possibility that could possibly happen raced through her mind at the speed of a bullet train. She rushed into the shower after noticing that it was already 6:30. Her flight was at 9 which meant she needed to move fast.

The shower didn't help her nerves as much as she thought it would have. Rather than feeling relaxed, she just felt rushed. She showered as fast as possible, which apparently meant reverting back to the 7 minute showers that had her take as sleep away camp. Getting ready the rest of the way was quite easy except for the fact that her damn hands wouldn't stop shaking. By 7:15 she was ready to go thankfully and dragger her parents around, making sure they were ready to take her as well. 

When she got there, the airport looked massive from the outside. The inside just seemed endless. She got a croissant, a banana, and tea for breakfast at one of the stores inside the airport and ate while she waited for the plane with her parents. They waited in silence, Ximena's head was buried in her phone while her parents were talking and reading. You'd think considering the fact that she wouldn't be seeing her parents for the next several months she'd be all over them and trying to savor every moment she can. Instead she's trying to see if she can even remember how to order food in Korean.

Before she knew it, her flight had been called to board, which resulted in her parents hugging her and giving her advice and bombarding her with requests and reminders.

_"Don't forget to text us every night and make friends! Take pictures of your dorm for us. And don't forget to call or text us when you can sweetheart. We love you."_ Her mother rambled as she picked up her carry-on bag. 

_"Love you too mom. Love you Papi."_

_"Love you munch"_ Her father smiled and delivered one last kiss to her forehead before gently nudging her towards the gate. They waved at their daughter proud of what she was going to accomplish.

Ximena waved back before turning around and walking as fast as possible onto the plane before she ran right back to her parents. The small half-Korean found her seat quickly with the help of a flight attendant who helped her get situated before taking off to the back of the plane as a frenzy of pre-flight precautions played on the screens in front of her. Those ended soon enough though. 

She felt the plane roar to life and sat back fearfully, not knowing what to expect. After a few minutes of mindlessly starring out of the window, Ximena watched as the ground appeared to be further and further away, before drifting off to sleep up in the clouds.

Her knees buckled underneath her body as she stepped out into the airport from the plane, making her way to the baggage claim. While she had slept through the majority of her flight, her legs still felt like jelly from not moving for so long. Between her suitcase that was trying to be her height, the small galaxy colored travel bag strapped on her back, and a bright red hat on, many heads turned as the girl walked through the airport and outside to meet aunt in the small grey car directly in front of the exit.

"Hyewon, it's so nice to see you again." Her aunt smiled, greeting her.

Ugh. Hyewon. 'That's not my name!' She thought defensively. 'Guess I'll have to get used to that.' She sighed to herself.

"Hello Auntie." She greeted softly. She only used Korean with her mother, so she wasn't the best, but she was decent enough to survive as a "foreign trainee".

The ride to the dormitory consisted of questions being thrown at the girl, who was doing her best to answer and form her own questions.

"How's Hyunggu?" She asked Aunt, attempting, struggling, and failing to make small talk to fill up the deafening awkward silence. Hyunggu. One of her cousins who she missed dearly.

"I'm assuming you know about Hyunggu's job. He's doing well though. He can't wait to see you. He will be able to take you out once stuff gets settled with you. Last time you both saw each other, you would have been 8 right?"

Ximena nodded, continuing the conversation with her aunt until they pulled up to the dormitory. The girl yawned slightly as she got out of the car. Time zones are a pain in the ass. Here in Korea, it was currently noon but back in America, she would be going to bed now. She didn't care that she'd slept for almost the entire flight. You can never sleep too much.

She yanked her suitcase out of the car, walking to the building with her aunt, who had went in before her, making Ximena sigh from relief that she wouldn't have to be awkward and stutter through an introduction or anything .

SM emailed her the information on how to get her room key at the front desk and all that good stuff. After getting it, Ximena parted ways with her aunt, going up to her room and unpacking her stuff.

It was a decent sized dorm room, with 2 bedrooms. It was a bit closer to a small apartment if anything, but there were multiple trainees living in the dorm. The small apartment was unisex, so one of the bedrooms was for female trainees, the other for male. It wasn't necessarily the setup she'd been expecting but she's fine with it. A large portion of her friends were guys anyway. To be honest, she didn't think the reality of the situation had settled in yet.

Entering the dorm, she got scared by 2 boys on the couch, yelling at each other as they played Mario Kart together, but definitely not in Korean, or any language she spoke.

She awkwardly stood at the door, waiting for the round to end and them to notice her presence, but she just seemed invisible to them as they yelled back and forth, playfully, each trying to win.

She giggled at the awkward positions the boys were in, both trying to block the other from seeing the screen, but they sort of just ended up snaking around each other.

They screeched when they heard her, practically jumping to the ceiling, scaring her in return.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" Yelled the boy with light brown hair. He stared at Ximena in disbelief.

"MIRAE WE'RE BEING ROBBED! HELP US!" He yelled, causing someone to run out of one of the bedrooms, looking slightly scared until they saw the now 13 year-old standing at the door with wide eyes

"I-... I-I'm not a thief!" She yelled, slightly offended.

"God... I'm sorry. They're idiots." Said the one that just came, who she assumed was Mirae. "You must be Hyewon."

"Ximena." The youngest corrected. Since she'd be living with them now, she ought to feel comfortable.

"Sorry.... Come. I'll show you your bed. You'll be sharing a room with me." Mirae said softly.

Ximena obliged, following Mirae into a room with dark blue, almost black walls, a bunk bed and a single bed. The bottom bunk was already taken meaning she'd take the single. She didn't trust bunk beds, no matter how sturdy.

"Set your stuff up. Call me if you need anything. The boys won't be much help to be honest. We got the day off because of your arrival, so those 2 will probably be playing games for a while. Dejun might eventually come out of his room, but he's busy enough I suppose." Mirae smiled at the younger as she took her suitcase over to her new bed.

"Thank you." Ximena smiled, holding back a yawn. "Where should I put my clothes?" She asked softly.

"The right side of the dresser and closet is for you. As for shoes, there is an organizer at the door."

"Ah. I see." She said, opening her suitcase, placing her Jack Skellington sheets on the bed.

The next hour or so was uninterrupted, as she unpacked her bags, laying her stuffies out on her bed.

Laying down, she sighed tempted to go to sleep before realizing that she hadn't stretched since before she got on the plane, meaning that she'd have to later if she didn't want to be sore from the dance class she'd had two days ago. Fuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnn.

_"AW COME ON!"_

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this chapter was super short! Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
